


Doesn't Matter If You're Sixteen Or Thirty-Five

by mrfreddyjones



Series: Thallen Fall Week 2015 [1]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/F, F/M, High School Reunion, M/M, mentions of past bullying, thallenfallweek2015
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-26
Updated: 2015-10-26
Packaged: 2018-04-28 06:08:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5080633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrfreddyjones/pseuds/mrfreddyjones
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There were three things Eddie Thawne knew for sure. One: High School sucked. Two: He never in his life wanted to go back. And three: he had to go back.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Doesn't Matter If You're Sixteen Or Thirty-Five

**Author's Note:**

> Written for day one of Thallen Fall Week 2015: October 26, Back to School.  
> Title from the song High School Never Ends, by Bowling For Soup.

There were three things Eddie Thawne knew for sure. One: High School sucked. Two: He _never in his life_ wanted to go back. And three: he had to go back.

“Yeah, I bet high school was hell for you, Pretty Boy” Detective Sarah Lance snorted, shaking her head. She and Eddie had been partners for years, and friends for almost the same time, but never really discussed their past.

They were sitting on their car together, staking out a lead. He stirred his coffee calmly, taking his eyes from the door they should be watching for a split second, glancing at her just as she bit on her gigantic chocolate donut, with frosting and sprinkles. His mouth watered. “I was fat. And had braces. And everybody hated my dad”

“So you were the ugly duckling,” she said, with a shrug. “I was the ‘slut’ who slept with her sister’s boyfriend.”

“I was also in the closet” he turned back to watch the door, taking a sip of his coffee. “And I had a crush on my girlfriend’s _straight_ brother”

“But you didn’t sleep with him” she argued, playfully, taking another bite of the donut.

“I wanted to” he chuckled, shaking his head. But then his tone was dark again. “God, those were the worst years of my life. There was this kid, Snart, who beat me up every day for my entire Freshmen year”

“Then don’t go,” Sarah shrugged, but there was compassion in her eyes. “I skipped my High School Reunion. Why don’t you just stay here? We can marathon _Buffy: The Vampire Slayer_ , eat ice-cream and talk about how you wanted to touch your girlfriend’s brother’s butt”

Eddie laughed at that.

 

* * *

 

He decided to go to the reunion, after all. He’d arrived at the conclusion that not going meant Snart and the other bullies would’ve won. So that’s how Eddie found himself wearing the best suit he _didn’t_ own (he’d have to add _rental suits are itchy as fuck_ to the list of things he knew for sure now), and with Sarah (“I’ll never forgive you for dragging me back to High School, Thawne”) hanging on his arm in a beautiful black dress she didn’t own either (thank you, Nyssa).

The auditorium seems smaller, filled with grown-ups now. The theme of the reunion was _prom_ , which was enough to annoy Eddie. “I’m getting flashbacks here,” he said, serving them both drinks (punch, _of course_. Hopefully it’d be spiked).

“Eddie?” a woman called and he turned around to find his ex, in a beautiful, long, baby-blue dress.

“Iris, oh my God, hi!” he said, a genuine smile on his face. She was the only person he was _actually_ looking forward to seeing. Well, her and-

“You remember Barry?” she asked, tipping her head to the side, to the man in a slim suit and converse shoes – the same look he’d rocked to the prom back in the early 2000s. Back when Eddie was with Iris.

“Yeah, of course” he smiled offering a hand to the man who’d been the object of his affection many years ago. “We had chemistry together”

Barry was taller, still lean, and moved with the same lack of grace as his surprisingly big hand wrapped around Eddie’s in a firm handshake. “How’ve you been?” the brunette asked, a warm smile on his lips.

“Good, good. You?” Eddie’s eyes roamed over the pale skin, the dimples on Barry’s smile. Their hands were still connected.

“Yeah, yeah, good too” Barry nodded, making no motion to pull back his hand.

A moment of silence fell over them, disturbed only by the music (Fall Out Boy’s _Sugar We’re Going Down_ ), until Eddie had to make an effort to pull his hand back. “This is Sarah” he said, then.

“Nice to meet you,” both Barry and Iris said at the same time, and then Iris smiled that cryptic smile of hers before asking _“How long have you two been together?”_

Both blondes glanced at the other for a moment, and then they were both laughing loudly. “God, no, we’re not-” Eddie shook his head

“I have a girlfriend-” Sarah interjected, waving her hand at the dress as if that were meant to be proof

“I’m gay, so-” Eddie chuckled, the words passing past his lips so easily he couldn’t fathom a time when they were a secret.

“Oh,” Iris said, but she had a smile on her lips. “That’s- That’s great! It makes a lot of sense now that I think about it” she nodded, trying to pretend she was surprised.

Sarah didn’t miss the way Barry’s posture changed, or how his grip tightened just slightly around his cup. Was that- Was Eddie’s crush _interested_?

“So,” she jumped in, a friendly smile playing on her lips as she looked for an opportunity to walk away with Iris and leave Eddie alone with the one person he couldn’t shut up about their entire trip. “What do you do?”

“I’m a reporter for the Central City Picture News,” Iris replied, just as friendly. “And Barry here is-”

“Head of the department of Mechanical Engineering for S.T.A.R. Labs” Barry interrupted, and it was _clearly_ a lie – if the way he rushed with the words hadn't gave it away immediately, Iris surprise would have. “How about- How about you guys?”

“Oh, well, we’re-” Sarah began, but Eddie jumped back in, ready to show Allen that two could play this game.

“We’re FBI agents” he said, pulling his best poker face.

“No you’re not,” a man said from the side, audibly rolling his eyes, and all four of them turned to find Leonard Snart trying to balance three full cups of punch and a plate full of shrimps. “You’re cops in Keystone. You arrested me last month.”

Barry let out a small laugh at that.

“He’s not with S.T.A.R. labs either,” a woman said, coming up behind Leonard, and all color drained from Eddie’s face. “My _husband_ ’s the head of that department” she said, simply. “Hello, Thawne” she teased, then, winking at the detective.

“Snart” he shot back through gritted teeth

“ _That_ ’s your bully?” Sarah asked, not able to help the surprise in her voice. Just two days before she’d seen Eddie stop a bank robbery and take down two metahumans with the power to control the weather. Lisa and Leonard both laughed at that.

“She was big,” Eddie said, defensively, not taking his eyes out of her – as if half-expecting her to do something.

“And she had man hands” Barry provided, also glaring. That made Eddie turn, and at a quick glance from the detective, he shrugged. “She beat me up, too”

A new wave of fury washed over Eddie.

“Guys, what’s the hold up with those shrimps?” A man with long black hair came after the two, and stopped when he saw the group.

“And him.” Barry frowned, confused. “Cisco? You’re with…?”

“I’ve changed my ways,” Lisa raised both hands, as if in surrender. “Haven’t I, Cisco?”

The scientist, who wore a wedding band which clearly matched Lisa’s, nodded, but Leonard rolled his eyes. “No you haven’t” he said, which earned him a slap in the arm. “And you still have man hands” he winked at Barry, a small smirk playing on his lips, as he turned around to leave, followed by his sister and brother in law.

“What was that?” Iris asked, turning to look at her brother. Eddie had an eyebrow quirked as well.

“We used to go out,” Barry shrugged, and with Iris’ gasp, they almost didn’t notice the way Eddie choked on his drink.

* * *

  

Avril Lavigne’s _The Best Damn Thing_ was playing now, and Eddie wondered for a moment who made Hartley Rathaway the DJ, and he might’ve said that out loud, because Barry was laughing and Barry’s hand was hot on his arm, burning through his jacket and shirt.

“How come we didn’t hang out back in High School?” Barry asked, then, taking a sip of his punch, and there’s some bitter-sweetness in his voice. “I can’t believe prom could’ve been this fun”

Eddie ducks his head. “I was scared. And you were into badboys, apparently” he said, a small grin playing on his lips as he reached for his own cup. Another moment of silence fell over them. “But-” he continued, a nervous smile replacing the grin. “I’m not scared anymore, and you seem to have outgrown motorbikes and leather jackets…”

Barry laughed again, nodding. “Yeah, I have.”

“Good. Then how about we ditch the prom and go out for a beer?” He licked his lips, heart racing.

“Yeah,” Barry agreed, letting his empty cup rest at the bar – from where the two of them hadn’t moved since they first ran into each other over an hour ago. “I’d love that”

From a few feet away, Sarah hands Iris a $50. “Told you they’d get together” Iris grinned.

 

* * *

 

As they were lying on the roof of Barry’s – well, Iris’ dad’s – house watching the stars, Barry’s head resting on Eddie’s chest, at three A.M., Eddie Thawne knew three things for sure. One: Barry Allen was a great kisser. Two: Being with him felt like being at home, in a way that being at home never felt like to him.

And three: He _never in his life_ wanted to be away from Barry Allen again.


End file.
